1. By: Haylie, Grace, and Daya
Battle of the Atlantic
By: Haylie, Grace, and Daya

2. Overall Impact/Thesis

3. Thesis:
The Battle of the Atlantic was essential for The Allies’ victory in World War II, as the improvement of technology helped preserve crucial ship routes that were at risk due to German militarism.

4. Background Information

5. Background Information
Naval war
Lasted 6 years ( )
Britain, Canada, United States (Allied Powers) Vs Germany and Italy (Axis Powers)
Purpose: secure ship routes between Britain and North America through the Atlantic Ocean
“Longest military campaign”

6. The Situation Britain was dependent on oversea supplies
Needed ship routes to keep fighting in WWII
Involved North America
Germany tried to cut off these routes by sinking Allied ships bringing supplies across Atlantic
Purpose of battle: save the ship routes between Britain and North America

7. The Start Sept. 3rd 1939 Britain had declared war on Germany
German submarine U-30 attacked British passenger ship Athenia, thought they were attacking a British cruiser
112 civilians died

8. Axis Powers’ Strategies

9. Important People Karl Doenitz Reinhard Hardegan
Admiral that succeeded Hitler as head of state
Known for his extreme involvement in U- Boats
Made major decisions for Germany
Reinhard Hardegan
Famous U-boat commander

10. German U-Boats Advanced submarines Main tactic used in this battle
Groups called “wolf packs”
Built during war and really effective in early 1942 and 1943
1942, sunk over 1,500 British ships
Most important German development of the battle

11. Allied Powers’ Strategies

12. Important people Alan Turing
Computer scientist that decoded enigma machine
Winston Churchill
UK Prime Minister
Coined “Battle of the Atlantic”

13. Convoys Transported oil, food, aircrafts, tanks, troops, etc.
Surrounded by escorts: protected convoys from U-Boats
Escorts were other boats or planes

14. The Turning Point (1943) April-May 1943: climax of the battle
The Allies developed new technologies that could defend against and overpower U-boats

15. Airplanes and Depth Bombs
Depth bombs fired to destroy nearby U-boats
Can be detonated up to 300ft underwater
Sends deadly shock waves
Dropped by ships or aircraft onto U-Boats
Planes acted as escorts
Useful when radar system improved
Carried bombs

16. Q-ships Appeared to be neutral merchant vessels
Lured U-boats to the surface then attacked with hidden guns
Concealed gun in Q-ships

17. Radar Systems New airborne radar system
Made it possible to detect submerged vessels
Allowed them to make surprise air attacks with depth bombs when submarines surfaced
Enabled Allies to combat the U-boat fleet effectively for the first time

18. The Enigma Machine (1941)
Cipher machine the Germans used to decipher and send encrypted messages to U-boats
Contained Germany’s military Strategies
May 1941, a British ship destroyed German U- Boat U-110
“Operation Primrose”
They found the enigma machine → now able to decipher German messages

20. To Help You Visualize...

21. US involvement Politically neutral, but Germany was hostile to them
The US officially joined the battle in 1942
Axis powers attacked ships and navy vessels along North America
Sparked US involvement
Propaganda encouraging U.S. citizens to conserve food to make losses of supply convoys less costly.

22. Timeline

23. Timeline
September 20th: U-Boats start operating in massive “Wolf Packs”
September 6th: First organized Ally convoy sails
May 9th: the first Enigma machine code is discovered
1939
1940
1941
1942
September 3rd: German U-Boats sink first British ship/start of battle
July 6th: German ships operate out of captured French bases
March 11th: US is cleared to help the Allied Powers

24. Timeline Cont. May: battle is over, with an Allied Powers victory 1943
1945
May 1st: Allied planes and radar are successfully used (turning point/climax)
June 6th: German bases in France are deemed inoperable

32. Map Analysis
The number of red dots (sunk Allied ships) greatly decreased in and after 1943, and the number of U-Boats sunk increased
Demonstrates massive impact of the Allies’ new technology
Through the years, increased number of new convoy routes
Demonstrates the Allied Powers’ efforts (persistence)

33. Analysis of Battle
Allied victory in the Second World War would not have been possible (Britain would have run out of resources)
Helped keep the Allied convoys running and the supply lines to Europe open.
Development of new technology improved warfare

34. Impact on WWII
Successfully preserved the ship routes between North America and Britain, allowing them to continue to fight in the war
Germany and the Allied Powers developed new military tactics and technology
Also helped allies crack German Naval codes through the finding of the Enigma Machine
Proved the strength of the British Navy

35. Cool Facts
Britain would have run out of food and had to surrender in 3 weeks w/o convoys
Battle lasted 2073 days
February 28, 1942, a US aircraft and a navy destroyer hunted and depth-bombed a U-boat... which turned out to be a whale.
Over 1 million Canadians fought

36. Works Cited
"Alan Turing." World History: The Modern Era, ABC-CLIO, 2017, worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/ Accessed 23 Apr
Biesinger, Joseph A. “Battle of the Atlantic.” Germany, Facts On File, History Research Center, online.infobase.com/Article/Details/266880?q=battle of the atlantic. Accessed 2017.
"British Navy Anti-Submarine Q-Ship." World History: The Modern Era, ABC-CLIO, 2017, worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/ Accessed 23 Apr
Bruce, Anthony, and William Cogar. “Battle of the Atlantic, 1940–1943.” Encyclopedia of Naval History, Facts On File, History Research Center, online.infobase.com/Article/Details/407158?q=battle atlantic. Accessed 2017.

37. "'Defeat the Kaiser and His U-Boats'
"'Defeat the Kaiser and His U-Boats'." World History: The Modern Era, ABC-CLIO, 2017, worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/ Accessed 23 Apr
"Enigma Machine." World History: The Modern Era, ABC-CLIO, 2017, worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/ Accessed 23 Apr
Hess, Gary R. “The Battle of the Atlantic.” The War in Europe: The Turn of the Tide, Harlan Davidson, History Research Center, online.infobase.com/Article/Details/404740?q=battle of the atlantic. Accessed 2017.
"Karl Doenitz." World History: The Modern Era, ABC-CLIO, 2017, worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/ Accessed 23 Apr
Laurie, Clayton D. “Battle of the Atlantic, 1940–1943.” Encyclopedia of American History, Vol. 8, Revised Edition, Facts On File, History Research Center, online.infobase.com/Article/Details/195949?q=battle atlantic. Accessed 2017.

38. Newspaper reporting start of World War II. Image
Newspaper reporting start of World War II. Image. Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2 Feb library.eb.com.ezproxy.kcls.org/levels/referencecenter/assembly/view/ Accessed 23 Apr
Sheffield, Gary. "BBC - History - World Wars: The Battle of the Atlantic: The U-boat Peril." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2017
“Timeline of the Battle of the Atlantic.” WW2 Timeline of Events, Second World War, 13 Aug. 2003, Accessed 25 Apr